UNIONS, The ITF - Did they do any Good

[robpage]

Britain is changing it's name, we are going to be known as Daftland.

I have had this poem from some years back, and it tells you why.

My compliments to the person who wrote it R.Hopkins of Eastbourne

.

Daftland

We live in a country called Daftland

The Britain we knew is no more

Where sensible people do ludicrous things

Or risk breaking some Daftland law.

In Daftland we've police dogs with muzzles

Less the villain has cause to complain

And to steal from a shop and say 'sorry'

Means your free with no stain to your name.

You had better leave lights on in buildings

When you lock up and go home at night

'cause the burglars might hurt themselves entering

And there's no way you'll be in the right.

When speaking be wary in Daftland

As some terms that you've used all your life

Now have connotations unintended

And you'll end up in all sorts of strife.

We elect politicians in Daftland

to give us the laws of the land

Yet eight laws in ten now come from abroad

The whole thing has got out of hand.

The borders are open in Daftland

And of migrants there's no keeping track

Just a few of the thousands illegally here

Will ever be caught and sent back.

The exception to this is the hero

Who fought for this land in the war

He's old and he's sick, he might cost us a bit

So he's not welcome here any more.

When the history is written of Daftland

Historians may just recall

That the craziest people in Daftland

Were the public who put up with it all

[Jim Brady]

Bill ,why do you find it so hard to acknowledge that it was through the work of the union and not the work of the Mersey Mission To Seamen that sorted out the problem for the crew of the "Most Sky" you seem to be paranoid regarding unions.In an ideal world there would be no place for unions but unfortunately some money people do like to exploit the less fortunate.
Just tell me your views on this Bombardier crisis.Here we have British industry the best in the world as regards building trains.Derby have been in the railway business since it began,Now we have this Con/Dem government giving out a contract worth £1.4 billion to Siemens in Germany to build trains for Thameslink,this will result in the loss of 3,000 jobs in Derby.This is David Camerons big society we're all in it together!!!
It will only be through the intervention of the unions and public demonstrations that this contract will stay in the U.K
Watch this space and if this contract does go to Siemens in Germany it will show you the arrogance of this Con/Dem crowd and the shape of what is to come!!!!
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Jim Brady]

I forgot to add the work of George Stephenson 1781.1848 and James Watt 1736.1819 both pioneers in the steam engine and industrial revolution.First in the World in the railway industry and now we see this work going to foreign lands and the demise of building trains just the same way as we witnessed the demise of the British Merchant Navy.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[robpage]

Bombardier had written to Philip Hammond in May, Hammond explained, saying that even if the Thameslink contract was awarded to them in the immediate future, the successful delivery of existing projects meant it was already inevitable that the Derby plant would experience a dip in workload - "the scale of which will mean the lay-off of around 1,200 employees".

So the loss of the Thameslink contract has a lesser impact than that rep[orted , and Bombnardier , a Canadian company , do they have a support Britian set of ideals to work to .

My understanding is that Bombardier were not tendering on a like for like basis , which seems difficult for me to understand , and their equipment appears to be more efficient , in relation to power losses in the bogies , so I wonder what teh truth behind not getting the contract actuall;y is .

We are building two Aircraft Carriers in bits to satisfy labour shipbuilding constituenties , for which we are all paying a fortune , eventually they will fly American aircraft which we have paid billions for . I wonder how these comntracts get issued .

[Capt Bill Davies]

Bill ,why do you find it so hard to acknowledge that it was through the work of the union and not the work of the Mersey Mission To Seamen that sorted out the problem for the crew of the "Most Sky" you seem to be paranoid regarding unions.In an ideal world there would be no place for unions but unfortunately some money people do like to exploit the less fortunate.

Regards.
Jim.B.

Good morning Jim,

Many thanks your response.
I am not aware of any substantive work achieved by the Unions wrt the ship in question. Please advise. I have spoken on many occasions to members of the local NI and MCA who did help as indicated and I thought this was worthy of praise.

Paranoid about Unions? I would prefer cynical. Having lost a few jobs in the 90s because of ITF disruption and also seeing ships held to ransom by ITF for 'back pay' that was a clear fabrication then perhaps I can be forgiven for being 'cynical'.

I would agree your philosophy re the 'Ideal World'. Unfortunately such place does not exist.


Brgds

Bill

[alf corbyn]

with regards to contracts going to germany. after the falklands the british government sent the QE2 to hamburg for its refit. why not to a british shipyard? other ships since then have been built abroad but are still called british. if cameron is so concerned with our use of petrol why isn't he driving a smart car instead of a gas guzzling chaufuer driven jag?. alf

[Pete Leonard (Bruno)]

Hello Jim,
I felt I had to respond to your statement that we are paranoid about the unions. I am not anti union, because I think that the original concept was a good one. It helped to balance out the inequalities between greedy industrialists and what was essentialy slave labour. But then the unions, after one or two successful disputes started to get cocky and greedy. They had to justify their existence and the financial support that their members were contributing. They used their ultimate weapon,the strike, as a form of blackmail rather than a negotiating tool. They were bound to get their way most times using this method, but what their members could not see was that they were killing their own jobs by pricing themselves out of the market. So Jim, although the unions have a lot to answer for it is the people who ran them who are the villains. I mention no names but I think most of us know who they are.
Cheers
Pete

[Dennis McGuckin]

Right on Bruno,
Part of the reason I left England. Worked in the car industry,Coventry.
I could see it's demise coming. The union were just too powerful.
Used to call a strike so the convener could go down to the coast to visit his mistress.
Too bad really, as the union did such a good job in the beginning.
Just lost track of why they were there.
Den.

[robpage]

What is really sad , is that we stood back and let them do it , because we believed they were telling the truth . If we had known that tjhe officials that we let in to positions of authority in the Trade Union Movement were of similar curvature to a non European Banana , then we would I hope have cleared thenm out , but as they gained power like any parasite they gained strength . It still is happening today and we all still silently watch as the world about us crumbles . I wonder what the current state of Springbok house is , I bet it is not full of recuperating and needy ex merchant Seamen , that is just one example !

[Jim Brady]

It is good to be a Union Man if you are a Union man of principle.I remember the strike of 1960,to be quite honest with you I have not got a clue what it was all about.It was the National Seamans Reform Movement.I attended all the meetings on the waste ground by the old Sailors Home in Liverpool the guys leading the strike were Paddy Neary and Vic Lilly,me and my mates would be down there listen to what was said "Get back down here in the morning boys"We thought it was a good gig we were single and was'nt short of money so we were havig a bit of an extended leave.We were on picket duty at the Alexander Dock sometimes all night.Thursday the Dockers got paid we were given biscuit tins to take a collection from the Dockers,a car would pull up collect the money and away they went.Those guys on the committee had a good share out and a good booze up in the pub whilst us guys never thought of taking the price of a pint out of the collection.There were two of us in my family on strike we were on strike 13 weeks and my mother never got a penny off the two of us.Yes I remember that strike and a few individuals made lots of money from it so I suppose I became anti union.
After leaving the sea I ended up in management,a young man in my twenties I thought this will do me until I retire although 65 was a long way off.Life was good,the job was good and the money was good.As long as I increased the branch( just like bankers bonus's) each year my money would go up.My money was going up goodstyle through my hard work and times were good.Some smart ass in the Company decided this cant go on these guys are earning to much money,what happened they put us on a standard monthly wage.
We had all been happy, many a day i had been working 18 hours taking my work home,I would not drink of a day and I warned my staff if I ever caught them drinking during the day they would be sacked on the spot.
We never needed a union times were good we were treated fairly well we were dedicated to the job but through the greed of the Company we all became "Bolshi" and joined ASTMS.Instead of doing 18 hours I ended up doing about 6,the rest of the time I spent in the pub with other managers,the whole principle had gone,the need to increase the business was of no interest.We had an Area Manager,he found out who were union members and came around the branches putting pressure on the managers telling them that they were uselesss and were lucky to have a job I did'nt have a problem I knew I was quite capable of running the job.He was anti union and wanted to break it,the irony is he came unstuck with head office and came to me for an application form to join the union.The point I am making here is we were all happy and prepared to do18 hours a day to increase our earnings but the greed of the Company made us join a union which we never thought that we would need.I'm sure the unions,conveners and shop stewards were paid by the likes of Fords to call a strike just before Christmas each year.Ford pay increases came out in January Im sure Fords offered a low deal to instigate a strike.I remember Fords being on strike every Christmas,it was so obvious I dont know how the men did'nt see it,obviously they didnt want to pay the Christmas holiday pay.
My view is at times unions are an evil necessity.
Regards.
Jim.B.